Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1301 to 1325 of 4977 results

1301. Swept Clean

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... attention and says: "Charlie, why don't you tell everybody what the core value is. What's the most import thing?" Charlie thinks for a minute and says, "My kid. That's the most important thing, my kid. And I think I made a tremendous mistake. So, uh, I quit." B. Charlie realized that the most important thing was his son. Through the experience of providing for his son's care, he had cleansed the clutter of his soul, set his priorities for life and now he was able to savor the best, first. That's what Jesus ...

1302. The Burning Question

Acts 2:1-21

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... being there to help. He asked where we were but then was hollering so much that we never got a chance to tell him. Every time one of us said: "But Dad," he told us to shut up and quit interrupting. We carried in the groceries just before it started to rain. Then it dropped a few bits of hail and then quit. It got real still. All this time we were helping to put groceries away. Mom decided since the electricity was off that she would use the gas stove and fix soup and grilled cheese sandwiches for supper. We ...

1303. Moving Day

John 14:23-29

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... is suddenly transported back to the battlefield and all the memories he's been running from. He drops his clubs and tells Bagger Vance that he quits. He can't go on. The shot out of the woods is too tough. Bagger ignores him and ask him which club he'd like to ... back and forth at one another with a kind of awkward embarrassment. After a few nervous moments the wife spoke up. "I don't know quite how to say this, but we've been living here for almost three years. You see, we're not moving in, we're moving away ...

1304. Just a Little Faith Will Do

Luke 17:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... is enough to receive God’s blessings. The painter, Whistler, once wrote an essay titled 10 P.M. This essay contended that at ten o’clock at night even muddy water gleams with the reflection of light. From London Bridge at 10 p.m. the river Thames, which looks quite ugly during the day, seems to lose its filth as it reflects the glow of the city’s gas lights. The surface of the muddy city stream is beautified at night as it sparkles with the gems of light. (6) That is what happens when we allow that ...

1305. Chosen

John 15:9-17

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

... and what could be chosen: God said: "I chooses you." You and I have been chosen: chosen to love, chosen as friends and chosen and appointed to live as Jesus' friend in and to the world. We've been CHOSEN by God, and just like Calvin said: "Things are never quite as scary when you've got a best friend!" Our best friend just happens to be Jesus, who chooses us to love for Him in the world. Sometimes who you choose as friends says a lot about your own reputation. Say "Yes!" to God's choice. 1. Adapted from an ...

1306. Totally Poured Out

2 Timothy 4:9-18

Sermon

King Duncan

... . He wanted his young colleague Timothy to know he had no regrets, that he would do it all again. He wanted to let it be known quite clearly that the emperor Nero could not take his life from him; he was willing to give his life up freely for the glory of Christ ... love had a postscript: “P.S.,” it said, “If we ever break up, I want this picture back.” Perhaps Diane wasn’t quite that committed after all. (3) All of us are inspired by people who give their all. We call them saints, heroes, legends. We ...

1307. Worth a Thousand Points

Luke 18:9-14

Illustration

John P. Jewell

... Church Council and every committee the church had to offer. His list was extensive. "Very impressive," Peter smiles at the man. An angel standing with them also smiled and nodded as he tallied the points and then whispered in Peter's ear. Peter tells the man, "This is quite striking we seldom see men of your very good works. You will be pleased to know that you have 327 points! Is there anything else you can think of?" The poor soul breaks into a cold sweat and begins to reach deep for every single act of ...

1308. A Small Man Who Was Given a Big Heart

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

... “Zacchaeus, you come down! For I’m going to your house today!” Zacchaeus is one of the most famous short men in all of history. Why? Because one day Jesus was passing through Jericho, Zacchaeus’ home town. Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector in Jericho and was quite wealthy. In spite of his wealth he wanted to see Jesus as he passed through town. Being a short man, however, he could not because of the crowd. So he ran ahead of the crowd and climbed a sycamore tree so he could get a better view of ...

1309. Can You Be Popular and Serve Jesus?

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

King Duncan

... the longest line, the rest were secretly voting for the second-longest line. The experiment began with nine teenagers voting for the wrong line. You can imagine what happened. The lone teenager who was out of step with his peers, who was known quite appropriately as “the stooge,” would typically glance around, frown in confusion, and finally slip his hand up with the others. The instructions were repeated and the next card was raised. Time after time, the self‑conscious stooge would sit there saying a ...

1310. The Prayer of a Thief

Luke 23:26-43

Sermon

King Duncan

... who have visited prisons, it is filled with people who were sentenced unjustly. On television, criminals confess their guilt quite readily at about minute 57 of the drama. However, law enforcement officials tell us that getting a sincere confession ... the reign of Christ in our lives and in our world. [In some churches it is the celebration of Christ the King.] It may seem quite strange that we should be talking about the thief on the cross the Sunday before the beginning of Advent, but it is because this ...

1311. The Fluctuation between Light and Darkness

Matthew 11:2-12

Illustration

William B. Oglesby

... either personally or in the experience of those we love. Sometimes these rough places occur because of negligence or evil-doing on our part; at other times they occur because of circumstances over which we have little if any control. In any event, all of us know these times quite well as the sun goes behind the cloud and we walk through the shadow of despair. Indeed, it is likely that for most of us these times become the most crucial of all times, and it is certain that they happen to all of us at one time ...

1312. Love Lifted Me

Psalm 40:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

... was at risk of taking a tragic fall not because she was a bad person, not because she was an uncaring person, but because, quite by accident or poor judgment, she had somehow gotten herself into a bad situation. I run into people all the time who are ... and that God will always be there to listen and to lift. On our own you and I have a tendency to foul up our lives, sometimes quite miserably. Sometimes we may end up in a slimy pit. But there’s good news. There is One who loves us, and listens to us, and if ...

1313. Playing the Blame Game

John 9:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

... habit; then comes pot, then the loss of her virginity, and, down the road, a miscarriage. When she tells her mother she is quitting high school, her mother slaps her across the face. Her father lights a cigarette and begins to talk with it between his lips ... been the most joyful day in this man’s life. He had been blind all his life. Then this man Jesus came by and did something quite remarkable. He took some dirt and some of his own saliva and made mud. Then he put the mud on this man’s eyes and told ...

1314. My Pastor Will Find Me

Matthew 6:25-34

Illustration

Leonard Sweet

... going to die! We're going to die! There's no food! NO water! We're going to die!" The second man, in a quite relaxed manner, propped himself up against a palm tree. He was acting so calmly, it drove the first man crazy. He began to shout, ‘Don ... understand? We're going to die!" The second man replied, "You don't understand. I make $100,000 a week." The first man looked at him quite dumbfounded and asked, "What difference does that make? We're on an island with no food and no water. We're going to DIE!" The ...

1315. Loving Deeply (Mother's Day)

1 Peter 1:13-2:3

Sermon

King Duncan

... baseball field but that he did not reach down and pick up the glove of his teammate, Joe Gordon, and hand it to him. (3) We see love lived out in many areas of our secular world. A man tells a delightful story about an occasion when his cell phone quit working. This occurred just as he was trying to let his wife know that he was caught in a freeway gridlock and would be late for their anniversary dinner. He wrote a message on his laptop asking other motorists to call her. He printed it on a portable ink-jet ...

1316. It's Not Fair!

1 Peter 2:13-25

Sermon

King Duncan

... of the car window trying to see. And yes, before they realized it, they smacked their heads together. Both men were hospitalized with severe head injuries. Their cars weren’t even scratched. (1) Strange things happen. And sometimes these events don’t seem quite fair. Actress Helen Hayes used to tell of walking down the Champs Elysees in Paris with former Broadway star Mary Martin, who was wearing a new designer outfit. A bird came down, went swoosh, and made a mess on Mary’s expensive outfit. Helen ...

1317. When Christians Pray

Acts 1:12-26

Sermon

King Duncan

... to keep the ship intact. The captain told him that while ninety foot waves were daunting, the ship could negotiate them quite handily as long as the ship didn’t lose power. “If you lose power in big seas in any boat,” he ... blanks. We’re becoming more like the world than the world is becoming like the kingdom of God. Could the problem be that we have quit depending on prayer? A kindergarten class went to a fire station for a tour and some instruction in fire safety. The fireman was explaining what to ...

1318. An Invitation to Tired Souls

Matthew 11:25-30

Sermon

King Duncan

... sit in front of a computer screen. Many of us have jobs that are repetitive or that require precision, and so we drag ourselves into our homes barely able to put one foot in front of the other. We’re tired! We’re beat! Then sometimes something quite interesting happens. The phone rings and a friend asks us to go shopping or dancing or bowling or something else we enjoy, and suddenly we have a burst of energy that belies our exclamations of fatigue. Have you noticed? Where does that new energy come from ...

1319. A Style in Mistakes

Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

Illustration

Kent Moorehead

... their style. Suppose you hear a strain of music that you have never heard before, but in just a minute you say, "that's Brahms," or "that's Beethoven." How do you know? That's their style, the way they do it. No one else does it quite that way. We had quite a controversy some time ago when somebody gave two wonderful Rembrandts to the art museum in Detroit. So we all went and ooohed and ah-h-d and thought they were wonderful. Then a couple of Philistines came in and said, "Fakes." What do you mean fakes ...

1320. Send Her Away!

Matthew 15:21-28

Sermon

King Duncan

... make all the difference. Even a thing which seems hard can be said with a disarming smile. We can call a friend . . . ‘a rascal’ with a smile and a tone which takes all the sting out of it and which fills it with affection. We can be quite sure that the smile on Jesus’ face and the compassion in his eyes,” says Barclay, “robbed the words of all insult and bitterness.” Maybe so. Or maybe he was just absentmindedly citing a common saying of the time. “It is not right to take the children’s ...

1321. Keep on Asking. Keep on Trusting.

Matthew 15:21-28

Illustration

King Duncan

... taught him many things. Recalling that first grief-fraught summer, Ronald Meredith wrote, "Grief teaches lessons that joy can never know. We discovered that there is a comradeship in pain." Unlike the Canaanite woman, Ronald Meredith did not see his son healed. But he has not quit trusting. He now looks forward to that great day when God's plan for us will be perfected. He believes that one day he will look at Ronnie and say, "Hi, Son," and for the first time Ronnie will respond, "Hi, Dad." They will need a ...

1322. Resolutions for a New Year

1 Corinthians 1:3-9

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... New Year's, what could be more appropriate than some New Year's resolutions? New Year's resolutions. Do you bother with them? "I'm going to quit smoking," or "I'm going to lose some weight," or "I'm going to spend more time with my family." I sympathize with the fellow who ... " (1 Corinthians 12:28). Then Paul goes on at length about the most important gift of all ... the gift of love. That is quite a list, but what is most surprising is when Paul says that even a church as messed up as the one at Corinth ...

1323. Beating Babel

Acts 2:1-21

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... might be referring to a Baptist church. The owner agreed and wrote this reply: Dear Madam, Thank you for your inquiry. I take pleasure in informing you that a BC is located two miles north of our campground, and seats 250 people. My wife and I go quite regularly, but as we grow older, it seems to be more of an effort, particularly during cold spells. If you visit our campground, perhaps we could go with you the first time, sit with you, and introduce you to the other folks. Ours is a friendly community ...

1324. Sex, Sex, and More Sex

Song of Songs 2:8-13

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... my picture of them. They were real people after all, animated by the kind of impulses and yearnings I knew quite well. These dignified and upright people - who, before my discovery, I could only imagine going to bed fully clothed - also ... thing that scripture informs us was not good was aloneness: "It is not good for the man to be alone" (2:18). Women and men are, quite literally, made for each other. Sex is a part of being human. "Therefore a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and ...

1325. Winning Over Worry

Matthew 6:25-33

Sermon

David E. Leininger

... upon billions of dollars are tied up every year in the losses incurred and the cost of treatment for those driven to mental illness brought on by the anxiety and worry that so characterize our society. Thousands go into eternity every year because they, quite literally, "worried themselves into an early grave." Worry is a huge problem. Obviously, it is a problem that is not unique to us. The crowd that sat listening to Jesus on that Judean hillside could identify with it. Otherwise, he never would have ...

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